Half to pultz



L. v. WALKLEY. CANVAS BAG FOR HAMS.

No. 255,221. Patented Mar. 21,1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' LUCIUS V. WALKLEY, CF PLANTSVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO PULTZ & WALKLEYCOMPAXY, OF SAME PLACE.

. CANVAS BAG FOR HAMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,221, dated March 21, 1882.

Application filed February 24, 1879. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Lucius V. WALKLEY, of Plantsville, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ham Bags or Cases, of which the following is a specification.

Ham-bags known as slip-bags have heretofore been manufactured with a square open mouth or top and straight sides at right angles to said top for about half the'length ot'lthe bag, and with the bottom end or lower half of the bag tapering and rounded. These bags were intended to be gathered and tied at the top when filled by a harm, as in ordinary sacks or bags. It has also been customary to cover hams with cloth fitted snugly thereto and sewed by hand entirely around the ham. In covering hams with such cases a ham was placed upon a quadrangular piece of cloth, the edges brought up far enough to cover one side or half of the ham, and the surplus cloth cut off at that point, which surplus was wasted. Then alike piece for the other side was cut and the two sewed up to incase the ham, the entire sewing being done by handwhen the cloth was on the ham. Other meats have also been similarly enveloped in closely-fitting sacks and sewed upon the particular piece of meat which it enveloped. .All of said prior art is hereby disclaimed.

Myinvention relates to ready-made flat hambags in which the two sides of the bag are cut from patterns and rounded for about two-thirds oftheir contour, seamed up for the bulk of said rounded portion, and leaving an unseained portion or month, which extends obliquely or cornerwise across the largest end of the bag; and

the objects of my improvements are to produce a ready-made ham-bag which can be made to receive and closely fit hams generally without special fitting for each particular ham, and without sewing when upon the ham, except at the month, thereby saving largely in the stock from which the bags are made and in the labor of incasing the hams and preparing the bags.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side View of a packing-case for hams, which embodies my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with a ham placed in it ready for sewing, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same with the ham incased.

The two sides or pieces which form each bag are cut to a proper pattern, the contour of which is clearly shown in Fig. 1, from a roll of cloth practically without waste. Two of such sides are then placed together and sewed or seamed at their edge, except at the month, by machinery and then turned. The sides of the case are rounded, so as to make the case substantially conform to the shape of a ham, and the seam sewed up on said rounded sides for about two-thirds of the distance around the case, the same being that portion of the case represented in Fig. 1 on the lower or left-hand side of the oblique broken line. The portion of the case on the other side of said broken line is left unsewed, and I prefer to leave the cloth on that side with an angular corner, as shown, and open upon the top and one side, making a mouth running in oblique direction across the corner of the bag at the largest end. The corners of the cloth outside said oblique line may be roundeda little, if desired; but care should be taken to leave sufficient stock on the open flaps to compensate for variations in the size ofthe hams within certain limits. For larger variations the cases are made in a graduated series of sizes, thereby insuring a good fit. Y

The distance that the side seam may be sewed up can vary considerable without departing from my invention; but two-thirds of the distance around the case will approximate the proper length of seam. A good rule to follow is that the opening measured cornerwise, as indicated by broken line in Fig. 1, should be about equal to the greatest width of the bag. It might be a trifle smaller; but if the opening is much less, then the case will not fit so snugly as is desirable, and if made much larger, then there will be alittle more hand-sewing required to incase the ham than there would be in a case or bag left open only the proper distance.

The article is designed for market when in i the fiat form shown in Fig. 1. In packing the hams are put into the case, as shown in Fig. 2.

In placing the ham into the bag it should be put in at substantially right angles to the oblique mouth of theba g, (indicated by thebroken line in Fig. 1 and when the small end reaches the bottom o the bag the side which is sewed up the farthe swan be pulled up on a curved path over the ham, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus it will be seen that substantially the same sized ham may be placed in the bag having the oblique month that can be placed in a bag having the mouth extending square across. lhe bag with the oblique mouth, therefore, has a much longer seam sewed by machinery than can be thus sewed in a like-shaped bag having a mouth extending square across the bag of the same size. The corners and edges of the flaps are then both turned inward and brought down over the ham. It the edges are tucked in too far, they may be let out a little, or they may be tucked in farther, as the case requires,

in order to make the cloth fit snugly. The ad-- joining flaps are then stitched together from the points 1 to 2, as shown in Fig. 3, when the ham is incased,ready for snbsequenttreatment in the ordinary manner. After the ham is thus incased it and its covering are substantially the same as prior meats having a closely-fitting case, except that about two-thirds of its seam is sewed upon the inside, instead of the outside.

I claim as my invention- The herein-described article, consisting of a flat ham bag or case having its two sides sewed together for about two-thirds of the way around their edges, said seamed edges being substantially of the contour shown in Fig. 1, and having also the open oblique mouth at one corner of its largest end, the length of which mouth is about equal to the greatest width of the bag, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

LUUIUS V. WALKLEY.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY W. ATW'ooD, EDWARD A. W001). 

